Pihiledeniyagedara Pathum Sanjaya Dissanayake v. The Officer in Charge Police Station, Rajanganaya & Hon. Attorney General – CA BAIL/26/21-2022

In the case between The Officer in Charge, Police Station, Rajanganaya, and the Hon. Attorney General (Respondents) and Pihiledeniyagedara Pathum Sanjaya Dissanayake (3rd Suspect-Petitioner), the court addressed the issue of whether bail should be granted to the petitioner, who was charged under the Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act No.4 of 2015. The holding established that the petitioner had not demonstrated “exceptional circumstances” required by Section 10(1)(a) of the Act, read with the Bail Act No. 30 of 1997, and that bail was therefore refused. The principle reaffirmed was that bail in such cases is contingent on the existence of exceptional circumstances, a standard subject to judicial discretion but to be sparingly exercised, particularly where in